Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are considered with the capacity to have both negative and positive effects on tumor growth. The prognostic value of TAM for survival in patients with solid tumor remains controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis of 55 studies (n = 8,692 patients) that evaluated the correlation between TAM (detected by immunohistochemistry) and clinical staging, overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS). The impact of M1 and M2 type TAM (n = 5) on survival was also examined. High density of TAM was significantly associated with late clinical staging in patients with breast cancer risk ratio (RR)  = 1.20 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14-1.28) and bladder cancer RR = 3.30 (95%CI, 1.56-6.96) and with early clinical staging in patients with ovarian cancer RR = 0.52 (95%CI, 0.35-0.77). Negative effects of TAM on OS was shown in patients with gastric cancer RR = 1.64 (95%CI, 1.24-2.16), breast cancer RR = 8.62 (95%CI, 3.10-23.95), bladder cancer RR = 5.00 (95%CI, 1.98-12.63), ovarian cancer RR = 2.55 (95%CI, 1.60-4.06), oral cancer RR = 2.03 (95%CI, 1.47-2.80) and thyroid cancer RR = 2.72 (95%CI, 1.26-5.86),and positive effects was displayed in patients with colorectal cancer RR = 0.64 (95%CI, 0.43-0.96). No significant effect was showed between TAM and DFS. There was also no significant effect of two phenotypes of TAM on survival. Although some modest bias cannot be excluded, high density of TAM seems to be associated with worse OS in patients with gastric cancer, urogenital cancer and head and neck cancer, with better OS in patients with colorectal cancer.